LUKE 10:38-42
Now as they were traveling along, He
entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had
a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.
But Martha was distracted with all her
preparations, and she came to Him and said, “Lord do you not care that my
sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But
the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha you are worried and bothered
about so many things; but one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good
part, which shall not be taken away from her” (NASB).
INTRODUCTION
A weary Christian lay awake one night
trying to hold the world together by his worrying. Then he heard the Lord
gently say to him, “Now you go to sleep, Jim; I will sit up.” Worship and worry
cannot live in the same heart; they are mutually exclusive.
As we continue our series on worship,
I would like to share with you on the topic: “Working for the Lord or
Worshiping the Lord?”
I. THE HEARTY
RECEPTION VV. 38-39
In this text, we have a precious jewel that Luke has
preserved for us. Luke is the only Gospel writer who records this event in his
Gospel account. I would like to give you some hints about the Gospel of Luke.
Luke is the Gospel for all people. Luke’s Gospel portrays Jesus as the Son of
Man. A Gospel puts women in a positive light. Luke’s Gospel depicts Jesus as
the emancipator of all people, including women. In Luke’s Gospel, you see the role
of women in Jesus’ ministry and discipleship.
When people accuse Christians and
churches for the restriction and abuse of women today, they do not know what
they are saying. Jesus in fact, is the one who broke the social barrier that
the ancient cultures of the Greeks, Romans, and the Jews had placed in the path
of women. During the time of Jesus, women were not allowed to have a formal
education. The Jewish people forbade women from talking to/with a Rabbi in
public. A woman could not testify or bear witness in a court of law. No matter
how strong her testimony might be, it would be thrown out of court.
Therefore for Jesus to surround
Himself with women disciples, was a great risk but He was looking at the big
picture of redemption of fallen humanity. Jesus was not perturbed by what
others might have thought or concluded.
Luke does not mention the name of this
village, but John mentions in his Gospel chapter 12 that the name of the
village where Mary and Martha lived was Bethany Jerusalem
This passage is capable of being
misread in a couple of ways. First, it is not about women, rather it is a
passage on discipleship. The point of emphasis is not that women can be too
easily caught up in the busy work of keeping the home. What Jesus says to
Martha about Mary would be equally true if Mary were male or even a child.
Second, the point is not that activity like Martha’s is bad. The choice Jesus
discusses with Martha is between something that is good and something that is
better. Life is full of tough choices, and Jesus is stressing the relative
merits of good activities here. For conscientious people, such choices are
often the most difficult and anxiety filled.
II. A HARSH
REQUEST V. 40
Martha does not like her sister Mary’s approach to Jesus’
visit to their home, since she could use another hand in the kitchen. Therefore,
she asks for Jesus’ help, “Lord, don’t
you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help
me.” Those of us who have seen sibling rivalry can appreciate the tone of
Martha’s challenge to Jesus. The way Martha’s question is stated in the Greek
language makes it clear that she anticipates a positive answer to her question.
Martha is performing a worthy task, but she is consumed with what others are
doing. Jesus does not criticize her for what she is doing but for being
concerned about others’ activities. When we were at a certain local church,
there was a woman who volunteered to do many things. However, there was
something about her that I did not like. She complained a lot about why others
would not help her like what Martha is doing in this passage.
Are you overwhelmed? Do not lose sight
of your priorities. Spend time with the Lord. He will lift your load and give
you the right perspective. The struggles that we face each day can burden and
oppress us. But if we spend more time with God, we will find relief from
stress. Vance Havner said, “If Christians do not come apart and rest awhile,
they may just plain come apart!”
Martha certainly meant well, but her
zeal to entertain Jesus well as a guest caused her to become frustrated with
her sister Mary who sat and listened and also toward Jesus Himself because He
did not tell Mary to go and help with the serving of the food. Martha is so
dissatisfied that she wants to instruct the Savior what He should do, namely to
command Mary to help her. In this way, she disturbed the harmony between
herself and her sister and between herself and the Lord through her unbalanced
zeal to entertain Jesus as lavishly as possible. Martha’s attention was drawn
away by the burden of her service. Hard working Martha was distracted. The
lesson in this is that when we want to serve the Lord without spending time
with Him, we find ourselves distracted and frustrated. The reason many
Christians get frustrated in the work of the Lord is that they serve the Lord
without spending enough time with Him in worship and fellowship in His word. It
was A. W. Tozer who said, “Fellowship with God leads straight to obedience and
good works. That is the divine order and it can never be reversed.” Do you
spend enough time with the Lord in worship, in His Word, and in prayer before
you go out there to serve Him? If you do this, you would meet opposition
sometimes, but you would not be frustrated.
III.
A HARMLESS REBUKE VV. 41-42
Our Lord Jesus, who has perfect knowledge of the human
heart, saw through Martha’s attitude and also knew that it was a proper motive
that Mary had withdrawn herself on this occasion from the ordinary household
duties in order to hear the words of everlasting life from His mouth. Jesus
then responds tenderly and instructs in the process. Jesus says, “Martha, Martha” to indicate the
presence of caring emotion. The repetition of Martha’s name conveys an
expression of affection and concern. Jesus questions Martha not because of her
activity but because of her attitude about it: “You are worried and bothered about so many things.” The “phrase
“worried and bothered” carries the idea of an agitated mind. By comparing what
Martha is doing to what Mary is doing, Martha has injected unnecessary anxiety
into the visit. Jesus was concerned about Martha’s anxiety (v. 41).
For every one of us who is a disciple
of Jesus Christ, an attitude of learning and obedience takes first place. Martha
must now learn to give the Lord and His word priority even over loving service.
There are important human needs whether of the victim in verses 30-35 or of
Jesus Himself (Deut. 8:3). The most important part of our Christian life is the
spiritual exercise of worship and communion with our Redeemer and Lord. The
tension in the Christian life lies in maintaining the right balance between the
life of quiet worship in spirit and in truth and the practicing of our faith in
active service. And, indeed, it is only in the Word of God (the Bible) that
this comprehensive form of faith is taught.
From the standpoint of Mary emerges
the example of someone willing to sit at Jesus’ feet and fellowship with Him as
His disciple. Jesus offers a tender rebuke to Martha whiles He commends the
attitude of Mary. The reason is that there is something tranquil in what Mary
does. Often in the hustle and bustle of life, we need to pause for a moment of
reflection before the Lord. Jesus tells Martha that “one thing is needed” and her
sister Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. A
time well spent with the Lord cannot be compared to anything in the Christian
life. I have made it my practice not to answer any phone calls in the morning
when I am having my quiet time with the Lord. The reason is that whatever the
message that the person wants to communicate to me whether good or bad only God
can give me what to do or say.
Jesus says that just one thing is
needed. Out of the many things we do, good things, important things, hundred of
things, only one is needed. That is right, just one. Martha was so distracted
by her busyness that she did not recognize it. Jesus contrasted Martha’s “many
things” to Mary’s “one thing.” Martha was so busy serving the Lord that she did
not have time to enjoy His presence.
Martha’s service to Christ should have
brought joy and peace to her heart but instead brought anxiety, worry, and
anger. Her well-intended labor succeeded only in breaking the harmony between
her and the sister, and it cast a gloom over the entire affair. Does that sound
familiar? (Psalm 50:12).
Yes, Jesus will survive if Martha does
not feed Him, but Martha will not survive if Jesus does not feed her. Many
Christians have burned out, because they were so busy serving the Lord that
they had no time to sit at His table and feast on His Word.
Mary had “chosen that good part.” That
is a culinary term, the parlance of the kitchen. It was the choice piece, the
portion reserved for the guest of honor at the feast. While Martha thought she
was preparing the choice portion for Jesus, He gave it to Mary. Have you spent
time sitting at the feet of Jesus, enjoying His presence, and feasting on His
Word? Nothing, not even prayer, can take the place of faithful reading and
diligent study of the Bible.
Mary knew the one deep secret that
love cannot finally express itself in service. It must take the place of
devotion and of discipleship. The reason why there is tension and frustration
in churches today is that many church members are trying to serve Christ at the
expense of worship and discipleship. In this passage, Jesus calls us to a life
of worship and discipleship as well as practical service. However, worship and
discipleship precede Christian service. Martha was frustrated because she
allowed her attention to wander. She had a divided attention. She wanted to
listen to Jesus’ teaching while at the same time thinking about the
preparations for the meal. This episode would have turned out differently, if
Martha had first joined her sister Mary at the feet of Jesus to listen to His
instruction. The food could wait, but the learning and worship at the feet of
Jesus take priority. They may not have Jesus as their guest of honor again.
Both sisters could have later served Jesus with physical food after they had
received the spiritual banquet from the Lord.
A significant thing is the fact that a
woman is portrayed in such a positive light, as one worthy to sit at the
Master’s feet in a first century culture where women were not regarded as
worthy of formal instruction. However in the mission and ministry of Jesus,
grace knows no boundaries of gender. The Lord was willing to cross social and
gender barriers. Jesus was willing to teach all and so should we. Instructions
in the things of the Lord should be open to all.
This text is also a key to
discipleship. When service is elevated to its proper place in discipleship,
then battles over power in the church become irrelevant. Thus Mary sitting at
the feet of Jesus depicts a person who is willing to learn from Him, while
Martha’s busyness portrays someone serving Him. Disciples need to do both. In
other words, discipleship is a balanced combination of two things: service and reflection. But reflection and worship precede service. This may
involve moments of silence before God in prayer listening for His voice. It is
a great temptation to serve at the expense of being fed spiritually. That is
what Jesus’ remarks to Martha means. Some activities can wait. There is a time
to work and there is a time to listen. Unfortunately, often when things get
busy, the first thing to go is time with the Lord. However, the best time you
can spend anywhere is the time with the Lord in His word and in prayer. Before
activity can be meaningful and done with sensitivity, it should be bathed in
prayer. I suspect many of us can use a little more Mary and a little less
Martha in our lives. Part of Martha’s problem was that she worried too much
about what others were doing. The problem with some Christians is that they
spend too much time evaluating the walk of others and too little time being
self-critical about their own actions for Jesus. Think of how more effective
the church would be if we gave half the energy to evaluating our walk than we
often do to criticizing the walk of others. The church suffers when all its
energy is spent on spying and criticizing one another. What is critical and
important in the church is for every member to take responsibility of his/her
walk with the Lord. How do you balance your worship and work of Christ?
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